User:Rockbfr

REPORT ON THE CEBU WIKICON 2025 Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines 22-24 August 2025

- Bernadette F. Roco

A. Background

Anchored on the theme “Weaving Knowledge, Sharing Stories,” the Cebu WikiCon 2025 was held August 22-24, 2025 at The Fairfield by Marriott in Mandaue City, Cebu. The three-day national event became a platform to strengthen the Wikimedia movement in the Philippines by gathering community members from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. It also highlighted the role of Wikimedia projects in the promotion of free knowledge and open culture. With Cebu as the host, the conference also celebrated the rich cultural and historical heritage of the Visayas and underscored the importance of regional representation in the national Wikimedia movement. The gathering also demonstrated the value of partnerships with cultural agencies and local government units, while providing training and knowledge exchange for both new and experienced contributors, focusing on skills such as editing, research, community organizing, and project management. The Cebu Wiki Conference 2025 was organized by the Philippine Wikimedia Community User Group.

B. My Participation and Things Learned from the Conference

I was very honored to serve as the Conference Director for the national conference. The general direction, goals and expectations, as well as the budget ceiling for the conference were decided during a PhilWiki Board and officers’ meeting in the early stages of the planning for the project. My role in the implementation of the activity became easier with guidance from the Board of Directors which set the goals and general direction for the national conference, coupled with the efficient supervision of President Ms. Maffeth Sto Tomas. I was also able to harness valuable advice from Mr. Irvin Sto. Tomas through constant consultations as we prepared for and conducted the Wiki conference. My functions included the following: 1) Budget preparation: With the total budget in mind, I helped prepare a more detailed budget and identified the source of funds from the 2025-2026 allocation. 2) Communications: I prepared most of the necessary letters and invitations for the participants and resource persons to be able to travel. This included clearances from the Department of Education and various state and private universities from where they originated 3) Linkaging/networking. Firmed up the partnership with government agencies -- the National Museum of the Philippines-Cebu, and the Cebu Public Rizal Library and Museum through the local government unit of Cebu City. The host city of Mandaue officially welcomed the participants to the conference. We also successfully held the Transcribe-a-Thon at the Public Library, the museum tour and closing program at the National Museum-Cebu, and conducted a very informative walking tour of the city. 4) Arrangements with suppliers. Oversaw the support services required such as hotel arrangements, meal service, and transportation. 5) Attendance to conference sessions. Delivered the Introduction to the conference during the Opening Ceremony and actively participated in all the sessions except some of the simultaneous breakout workshops. The lectures and inputs were all informative and I particularly enjoyed the animated open forum and exchange of ideas after the talks.

C. Plans/Post-Conference Suggestions

Let us continue weaving open knowledge into new creations and building meaningful projects upon them. Let us empower ourselves and share our stories that inspire the larger, diverse community and sustain them through collaboration and partnership as we at PhilWiki pursue its strategic direction.

Some thoughts that come to mind: - I highly recommend to rotate the conference directorship among the members of the Board of Directors for in-house capability building. My experience was valuable in strengthening my management capability and my governance role in PhilWiki - Evaluate and identify the best venue for the next national wiki conference - Make arrangements, especially partner networking, a bit earlier for maximum conference output and impact - Invite more local participants to the conference, especially from partner institutions; - Let us continue to pay attention to the season and weather patterns in planning the next national conferences as they are a challenge to participant movement/plane flights and conference activities. - Pursue sustained collaboration with LGUs, universities and other cultural groups and NGOs; - Follow through with concrete actions on specific inputs in the conference, particularly on the Freedom of Panorama issue

D. Comments

I find notable the interconnectedness of our previous projects and activities fueled by the spirit of collaboration that drive the Wikimedia and the open knowledge movement. Our lessons learned from past experiences and outputs became valuable inputs for this conference -- proof that we are on the right track for internal and external capability building essential for program sustainability. With empowered Philippine Wikimedians, we shall be a strong contributor on the global movement stage.

My gratitude goes to Mr. Sakti Pramudya for his continued support, the participants and resource persons, the core group led by Ms. Maffeth and Mr. Irvin, with special mention to Ms. Sheena who untiringly gave her all-out attention to many details I could have missed out on during the activity, to our core group local counterparts Sir Herbert and Ka Bino, to Ms. Masi at the NMP-Cebu and the other personnel of our partner institutions for their assistance. Thanks also go to the helpful staff of the Fairfield by Marriott Hotel, MJS Transport and Tours, Cebu Tops Restaurant and the other museums we visited.

Congratulations to us all and to the PhilWiki Community for the resounding success of this Cebu WikiCon 2025!